Akiko—the first Japanese female singer to debut with the prestigious jazz label Verve—will appear in a well-received series celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2026 at Billboard Live Yokohama for the New Year, alongside Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra's bari saxophonist Atsushi Yanaka. The two artists, who continue to make their mark across borders in a variety of fields, will deliver a set centered on jazz as well as classics from Brazilian music and film music, in a performance unique to this day. In this show, her voice—transparent yet with inner strength—will blend with Yanaka's deep bari-sax timbre, and their voices will intertwine. That one-of-a-kind stage will vividly color the start of the new year.